


In Sickness, and a Little More Sickness

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1910313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was the worst patient in the history of patients.  That was saying something since she nursed three children through a variety of illnesses over two decades.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness, and a Little More Sickness

**Author's Note:**

> written for katiekat47, who wanted a fic where Erin takes care of Dave while he's sick with the flu.

“You're taking too long in there.” Erin stood in the bathroom doorway.

“I'm coming.”

“Like _coming_ coming or…?”

“Not that kind of coming woman.” Dave tried to laugh, which turned into a coughing fit and then him groaning.

Erin walked into the bathroom, opening the frosted glass shower door. He looked at her, a slightly amused but still miserable look on his face. She handed him a towel as he turned off the water. Dave wrapped it around his waist, stepping out of the shower. Erin wrapped another towel around his wet shoulders. 

This was day five, the first time he had the strength to get in the shower since he got sick. Dave Rossi never got sick but this flu was knocking people down left and right. Erin had her flu shot, which her husband claimed he didn’t have the time to get. Next year he might think a little differently. He went and sat on the edge of the bed while she dried him off.

“This kind of thing should be a turn on.” He grumbled. “Now it’s just gonna make me think of snotty tissues and Gatorade.”

“You'll get it over it.” Erin smiled.

“Please be nice to be baby, I'm dying.”

“Do you need me to help you dress?” she asked.

“No, I think I’ll be OK. I'm going to take it very slow.”

“Your pajamas are on the bed, and please put on the socks too. I have to go downstairs and get your dinner.”

“I'm not hungry.” Dave said.

“I know, but you're going to have to eat a little something. It’s just some tomato and rice soup and a piece of bread. You'll feel better after you eat a little.”

Dave started moaning about never feeling better again and Erin tried not to roll her eyes. He was the worst patient in the history of patients. That was saying something since she nursed three children through a variety of illnesses over two decades. Half the time she was giving him the strong stuff just to knock him out so he could stop complaining. 

It wasn’t easy dragging a man his size to the bathroom or transporting him from the bed to the couch so she could change sick, sweaty sheets. She was sleeping in her own bedroom but used the baby monitor from when the grandkids were over to listen out for him. Erin even had to take off work since she found him vomiting in the bathroom nearly a week ago, still refusing to admit he was even sick. If she didn’t hold him down Dave would still try to be on the road, spreading the virus like wildfire throughout the country.

“I'm looking forward to you feeling better as well.” She kissed his forehead, which was really a way to gauge his temperature. He was still warm and needed to be under the covers. “Then I can stop pretending I like you.”

“One of these days I'm going to believe you when you say it.”

“Get dressed, David.” Erin started toward the door. She grabbed the baby monitor just in case. “I’ll be right back with dinner.”

His cell phone rang as she walked past it. Erin grabbed that too, cutting her eyes at her husband when he looked as if he wanted to do the same. She answered it without even looking at the display.

“It’s not going to happen. Please hang up and try your call again.” Erin said as she walked down the stairs.

“I'm just checking on him.” Hotch said. “This isn’t about work, I swear.”

“He's coming along; better today than yesterday.”

“Does he have his appetite back?” Hotch asked. He was down a lot of agents with this illness. The BAU was a virtual skeleton crew at the moment. He’d even been ill for a few days but got back on his feet faster than most.

“No, but I'm force feeding him.” Erin replied. “Most of his care is done by force.”

“You can be quite forceful when you want to be…ma'am.”

“I'm hanging up now, Aaron, and I'm also turning this phone off. No news will be good news for the next couple of days. On the seventh day, I’ll let Dave call you.”

“I appreciate it. Please let him know I asked about him, and that Penelope sends her love.”

“I will.”

Erin slipped the phone into the pocket of her track pants. The soup was nearly done in the kitchen so she took the opportunity to sit out on the back deck with a cigarette and a big glass of wine. It was still cold out, March actually brought rain and more snow. But Erin was fine in one of Dave’s oversized sweaters. 

She needed some fresh air, it was going to be a bitch to air out the house after something like this. Last night she thought she might be getting sick herself, feeling disoriented and her throat scratchy. But Erin knew she’d just been working too hard. Being her husband’s caretaker was more tiring than being the Section Chief of the NCAVC. Here’s to hoping he never got sick again.

Dave was dozing off when she got back upstairs with his dinner tray. Erin put it on the bed in front of him, waking him with another kiss to the forehead. After he ate she would take his temperature orally.

“I'm really not hungry, baby.” He mumbled as she fluffed his pillows.

“I know, but I want you to try OK? Just have a few spoonfuls of soup and a couple of bites of bread. I know it’s going to make you feel better.”

Dave nodded, though he seemed unconvinced. He was going to try for Erin though. She’d been a real trooper throughout the illness. He wanted to give up on life the day before yesterday when he was coughing up a lung but she wouldn’t let him. You know a woman loved you when she practically carried you to the bathroom and made sure your ass was clean when you just didn’t have the strength. There was nothing glamorous about being sick; Dave was scrapping the bottom of the barrel. 

“I owe you one, baby.” He said, taking in his first spoonful. To Dave’s surprise the soup tasted like the best thing he ever had in his life. It was probably smart to go slow but he wanted more than a couple of spoonfuls. When he looked at his wife, he knew that she knew what he was thinking.

“You owe me nothing.” Erin shook her head as she sat down on the couch with her own bowl. It was a tight squeeze with both dogs occupying the space but they made it work. She was going to have to walk them after Dave finished dinner. “I took a vow. In sickness and in health, remember?”

“I was in Ohio the last time you were sick. The time before that I think I was in Oregon...no, Missouri. I took those vows too.”

“Martyr was never a good color on you, David. Just relax and eat…the soup is my grandmother’s recipe. I played a bit with the spices; you didn’t need them in your condition.”

“It’s really good.” Dave had another spoonful. “I'm hungrier than I thought.”

“That’s because you're getting better. Take it slow alright.”

“Am I better enough for you to sleep in here tonight?”

“You couldn’t possibly be thinking about what I think you're thinking about.” Erin said with a smirk. “It’s beyond even a David Rossi level of ridiculous.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t even have the strength to piss on your own and you're thinking about sex?”

“I could be in a coma and thinking about sex.” Dave replied. “Thinking about it and drumming up the energy to do it are two vastly different things.”

“Stop talking and think about dinner. I'm sleeping in my room tonight but I’ll be listening out for you. I hope to only hear snoring and your stuffy nose.”

“I'm only snoring because of the stuffy nose.”

“Of course.” She nodded.

“There's a slight mocking lilt in your tone.” Dave said.

“Yep.” Erin smiled.

“You're a smartass…I've always loved that about you. It’s an incredibly sexy quality.”

“I love you too. Don’t forget about your bread.”

“Yes ma'am.” Dave nodded and went back to eating.

Erin watched him for a while. Then she put her feet up on the ottoman and ate her own bowl of soup. It was surprising that the dogs didn’t go into full beggar mode. The few moments of peace were nice. If Dave was starting to feel better, Erin hoped for a full night’s rest tonight. 

He was clean, in new pajamas on clean sheets and blankets. After filling his stomach there would be Vap-O-Rub and then Nyquil. She might even have enough energy to knock out a chapter or two of the book on her nightstand. Actually it would probably be better to spend as much time resting as she could. Dave wasn’t the only one in recovery mode for the next few days.

***


End file.
